articles un peace between England, France, and Spain. 1783. 2. General terms of these articles. on the 5th of December, considerable altercation took place, on ac- 1782. count of the terms of this provisional treaty, but a large majority were found to be in favor of the peace thus obtained. The inde- 1. Prelimina pendence of the United States being now recognized by England, the original purpose of France was accomplished; and all the powers at war being exceedingly desirous of peace, preliminary articles were signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain, on the 20th of January, 1783. By this treaty, France restored to Great Britain all her acquisitions in the West Indies during the war, excepting Tobago, while England surrendered to her the important station of St. Lucia. On the coast of Africa, the settlements in the vicinity of the river Senegal were ceded to France,-those on the Gambia to England. In the East Indies, France recovered all the places she had lost during the war, to which were added others of considerable importance. Spain retained Minorca and West Florida, while East Florida was ceded to her in return for the Bahamas. It was not until September, 1783, that Holland came to a 3. Peace with preliminary settlement with Great Britain, although a suspension of arms had taken place between the two powers in the January preceding. Holland. 4. Remarks on the charac ter of the war, and the parts taken The France and 81. Thus closed the most important war in which England had ever been engaged,-a war which arose wholly out of her ungenerous treatment of her American colonies. The expense of blood and treasure which this war cost England was enormous; nor, indeed, did her European antagonists suffer much less severely. United States was the only country that could look to any beneficial results from the war, and these were obtained by a strange. union of opposing motives and principles, unequalled in the annals of history. France and Spain, the arbitrary despots of the old world, had stood forth as the protectors of an infant republic, and had combined, contrary to all the principles of their political faith, to establish the rising liberties of America. They seemed but as blind instruments in the hands of Providence, employed to aid in the founding of a nation which should cultivate those republican virtues that were destined yet to regenerate the world upon the principles of universal intelligence, and eventually to overthrow the time-worn system of tyrannical usurpation of the few over the many. PART IV. THE UNITED STATES. FROM THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT UNDER Period em braced in Part IV. CHAPTER I. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, FROM APRIL 30, 1789, TO MARCH 4, 1797. 1. On the 30th of April, 1789, Washington appeared before congress, then assembled in the city of New York, and taking the oath of office required by the constitution, was proclaimed President of the United States.* *In an impressive address to both houses of congress, he expressed his distrust in his own qualifications for the important office to which the partiality of his country had called him -offered his "supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, and presides in the councils of nations," that He would "consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a government instituted by themselves," and that He would enable all "employed in its administration, to execute, with success, the functions alloted to their charge.' a. Principles to which he till adhered: close of his address. 2. Adhering to the principles upon which he had acted while commander-in-chief, he now likewise declined all pecuniary compensation for his presidential duties, and closed by requesting congress to accompany him, in humble supplication, to the benign Parent of the human race, for the divine blessing on all those measures upon which the success of the government depended. 'Immediately after the 4. Manner in address, both houses of congress, with the president, at- new governtended divine service; and with this public acknowledg- commenced. ment of a Supreme Being as the ruler of the universe, and which the was Washington was inaugurated in the gallery of the old City Hall, which stood on site of the present Custom House, in Wall Street. ANALYSIS. controller of human actions and human destiny, the govern ment under the new constitution was commenced. 1. The legis lature during its first ses sion a. Ending Sept. 29. 3. The legislature, during its first session* was prin. cipally occupied in providing revenues for the long exhausted treasury; in organizing the executive departments; in establishing a judiciary; and in framing amend. 2. Measures ments to the constitution. For providing a revenue, du. providing a ties were levied on the tonnage of vessels, and likewise on for encour foreign goods imported into the United States. For the ican ship purpose of encouraging American shipping, these duties were made unequal; being the heaviest on the tonnag→ of foreign vessels, and on goods introduced by them. taken for revenue, and aging Amer ping. 3. Departments estab 4. To aid the president in the management of the af. lished to aid fairs of government, three executive departments were es the president. tablished,-styled department of foreign affairs, or of state; department of the treasury, and department of war; with 4. Duties re a secretary at the head of each. The heads of these de. heads of these partments had special duties assigned them; and they were likewise to constitute a council, which might be con sulted by the president, whenever he thought proper, or The power quired of the departments. 5. The power subjects relating to the duties of their offices. of removal. of removing from office the heads of these departments, was, after much discussion, left with the president alone. 6. Appoint Thomas Jefferson was appointed secretary of state. Hamilton of the treasury, and Knox of the war depart. ments made. al judiciary, ment. 7. The nation- 5. 'A national judiciary was also established during this and amend session of congress; consisting of a supreme court, having constitution one chief justice, and several associate judges; and circuit ments to the and district courts, which have jurisdiction over certain cases specified in the constitution. John Jay was appointed chief justice of the United States, and Edmund Randolph attorney-general. Several amendments to the constitution were proposed by congress, ten of which were subsequent8. The states ly ratified by the constitutional majority of the states. $In adopted the November North Carolina adopted the constitution, and constitution. Rhode Island in the May following, thus completing the number of the thirteen original states. that last 1790. 9. Hamilton's maintaining b 6. Early in the second session, the secretary of the plan for treasury brought forward, at the request of congress, a public credit. plan for maintaining the public credit. He proposed, as b. Jan. 15. a measure of sound policy and substantial justice, that the general government should assume, not only the pub. lic foreign and domestic debt, amounting to more than A Session of Congress is one sitting, or the time during which the legislature meets daily for business. Congress has but one session annually; but as the existence of each congress continues during two years, each congress has two sessions. Thus we speak of the 1st session of the 20th congress;-the 2d session of the 25th congress, &c. fifty-four millions of dollars, but likewise the debts of the 1790. states, contracted during the war, and estimated at twenty five millions. the plan. 7. 'Provision was made for the payment of the foreign 1. Success of debt without opposition; but respecting the assumption of the state debts, and also the full payment of the domestic debt,-in other words, the redemption of the public securities, then, in a great measure, in the hands of speculators who had purchased them for a small part of their nominal value, much division prevailed in congress; but the plan of the secretary was finally adopted. seat of government. 8. During this year a law was passed, fixing the seat 2 Permanent of government, for ten years, at Philadelphia; and afterwards, permanently, at a place to be selected on the Potomac. In 1790, the "Territory southwest of the Ohio," 3. Territorial embracing the present Tennessee, was formed into a territorial government. 4. government formed. Indian war on the northwestern frontiers. i 9. 'During the same year, an Indian war broke out on the northwestern frontiers; and pacific arrangements having been attempted in vain, an expedition, under General Harmar, was sent into the Indian country, to reduce the hostile tribes to submission. Many of the Indian towns were burned, and a large quantity of corn destroyed; but in two battles, near the confluence of the rivers a. Oct. 17, St. Mary's* and St. Joseph's in Indiana, between successive detachments of the army and the Indians, the former were defeated with considerable loss. 10. 'Early in 1791, in accordance with a plan proposed by the secretary of the treasury, an act was passed by congress for the establishment of a national bank, called the Bank of the United States, but not without the most strenuous opposition; on the ground, principally, that congress had no constitutional right to charter such an institution. and 22. 1791. ment of a na tional bank. 5. Establish its history, b. Feb. 18. 11. During the same year, Vermont,† the last settled 6. Vermont: of the New England states, adopted the constitution, and was admitted into the Union. The territory of this state had been claimed both by New York and New Hampshire; each had made grants of land within its limits; but in 1777 the people met in convention, and proclaimed. Vermont or New Connecticut, an independent state. Ow The St. Mary's from the S. and St. Joseph's from the N. unite at Fort Wayne, in the N.E. part of Indiana, and form the Maumee, which flows into the west end of Lake Erie. + VERMONT, one of the Eastern or New England States, contains an area of about 8000 square miles. It is a hilly country, and is traversed throughout nearly its whole length by the Green Mountains, the loftiest points of which are a little more than 4000 feet high. The best lands in the state are W. of the mountains, near Lake Champlain; but the soil generally, throughout the state, is better adapted to grazing than to tillage. The first settic. ment in the state was at Fort Dummer, now Brattleboro'. A fort was erected here in 1723, and a settlement commenced in the following year. |